Madam Speaker, not only do they wish to gag us but they are all but preventing us from speaking in this institution, which is very disagreeable. I continue.
No interest is more important than freedom, including freedom of speech. This freedom is the ability of Quebecers to decide their collective future, the freedom to elect a responsible government in Quebec—even if it is sovereignist—the freedom to have the Government of Quebec considered responsible and legitimate, the freedom to decide on the referendum question that suits us, the freedom not to be confined by an untenable status quo, the freedom to choose a country. These are the values to which I and my country, Quebec, subscribe.
No obstacle to this freedom can be accepted or imposed by anyone, particularly not by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. The Bloc Quebecois, all its members, all its supporters and all democrats in Quebec, intend to rise up against this assault on Quebec. There is no question of the people of Quebec agreeing to bow down to the shameless and disrespectful tactics of the Liberal government.
Agreeing to Bill C-20 would be agreeing to sell one's soul, to turn one's back on democracy.
I am deeply convinced that no one in Quebec wants to remain in a country that bears more of a resemblance to a dictatorship than a country that respects democratically elected institutions and the will of the people.
The true meaning of democracy for the young people of my generation, and what I wish for Quebec, what I wish for my country, Quebec, is different from what the people over there are proposing. Seeing just how far the federal government is prepared to go to deny the legitimate right of Quebec to decide on its own future and to deny the most basic rules of democracy, I am convinced that the Quebec people, with pride in their values, will soon choose—clarity law or no clarity law—to have their own country.
More than ever, I am convinced that sovereignty can truly change and improve things, for the foundations of our project are built on an affirmation of the democratic principle, although the same cannot be said about the people across the way.
To see how the federal government is acting, can my generation, or the population in general, really be faulted for no longer believing in the world of politics and its present institutions?
In referring this issue to the supreme court, in presenting Bill C-20, a bill that is against all international precedent, the federal government is merely making many members of my generation even more cynical about politics. Shame on the federal government.
Shame on the government for its refusal to listen to reason, for its refusal to respect democracy, for its rejection of the right of the Quebec people and its worthy representatives to be listened to and respected. By systematically denying the existence of the Quebec people, the federal government is denying the vital democratic principle of the right of peoples to decide their own future.
Democracy is meaningless without true representation and true debates. Democracy must not simply be a principle to which lip service is given. It must also be a principle which is respected. It must be present in actions as well. The federal government has no right to ignore democracy with impunity whenever it suits it to do so. And this is what it is doing with Bill C-20. In so doing, the government is giving the rest of Canada a new form of veto on the political and constitutional future of Quebec. Never.
With Bill C-20, the federal government is on the wrong track and there will be no turning back. What will there be left to do after Bill C-20? What is the next step for the Liberal government? To lock the doors of the national assembly to prevent Quebecers from being represented? To flood the whole province with Canadian flags carrying the message “Thou shalt honour Canada”? While the federal government is at it, why not ask members of the national assembly to sing O Canada at the beginning of their proceedings? No way.
What will happen after this show of force? The public can expect the worst from the government opposite.
We Quebecers still believe that democracy is what binds our society. If Canada no longer believes in democracy, it is its own business, but it is also a good reason for us Quebecers to become sovereign.
It is now clear that the federal framework is keeping us from truly thriving. To me, democracy is not a technical issue that only concerns a small elite, but the affirmation of a common will to live. It seems clear that if there is such a common will, it is in Quebec.
Quebec's sovereignty is above all an act of freedom. To long for sovereignty is to want Quebecers to have full control over their destiny through transparent institutions where their officials will debate the real issues.
Again, the federal government is on the wrong track with Bill C-20. There will be no turning back but, above all, the government is admitting that it has nothing to propose to Quebecers and that it is unable to meet their fundamental aspirations.
Quebec's sovereignty is a democratic, modern and unifying project.